Cleveland Cavaliers stand pat at NBA trade deadline

INDEPENDENCE -- For the first time in four years, the Cavaliers didn't make a big splash at the trade deadline.

Thursday's deadline came and went, and the Cavs were unable to make a deal.

Of course, they did make the big trade with Memphis on Jan. 22 when they acquired forward/center Marreese Speights, shooting guard Wayne Ellington, point guard Josh Selby and a first-round pick in exchange for forward Jon Leuer.

"Our trading season came a little bit early," Cavs general manager Chris Grant said. "We looked at a bunch of stuff in the last week. We didn't find anything that fit into what we are trying to do."

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Grant said the Cavs remained disciplined.

"We will continue to have our flexibility and cap space as we had into the draft and free agency," he said.

The Cavs fielded some calls from other teams because they had $4 million in salary-cap space.

"A few teams (had) cap space," Grant said. "One team had a large trade exception. We were one of the more active teams in that area."

League-wide, it was a pretty uneventful trade deadline. There were several minor deals, but the biggest name to change teams was Orlando guard J.J. Redick to Milwaukee.

o There were rumors that the Cavs discussed sending guard Daniel Gibson to the Los Angeles Lakers.

o Another report had the Cavs talking to Sacramento about lightening the restrictions on the first-round pick coming to Cleveland.

o Speights' name came up since he has a player's option on his contract for next year. He could walk away for nothing in the offseason. In case you were wondering, he's not eligible to sign a contract extension.

"We've been extremely happy with him," Grant said. "It's like he's been here since Day 1. If you're a good player in the league, teams are going to call and see if you're available. That's a compliment to a guy. We'll see what happens at the end of the season."

The GM said he never knows how close the Cavs came to making a deal.

"We got to the point where we felt good about some of the offers we were making," Grant said. "But it never fit with what we were trying to do.

"We didn't want to make a bad deal. It's better to do nothing than to make a deal that doesn't fit, take away some of our flexibility or give up some assets for under value."

In the end, however, they stood pat.

Cavs swingman C.J. Miles said he doesn't fret about this time of year.

"It's a business," he said. "People just say stuff just to say it, to make headlines. I've seen on Twitter that we should trade Kyrie (Irving). If you think Kyrie is going somewhere, you definitely don't know what you're talking about.

"You want to stay focused as the task as hand. If your name is rumored, it just means teams are interested in you, and you have a value in this league."

He said he's trying to stay clear of Twitter.

"Twitter is the devil," Miles said. "Socially, it's used the wrong way. It's a bunch of nonsense. I just laugh. It's a waste of time. I could be reading a book or shooting more jump shots other than reading what people are saying that might not be true in the first place."

Quick shots

o The Cavs are still open to possibly signing free-agent center Greg Oden. "Obviously, we've spoken to Greg," Grant said. "We've had him in. We've done our due diligence with him. He's a great kid. (He has a) wonderful heart. We'll talk to them and see what their position is and what his goals are. Like any other free agent, before you have to make something happen, we'll see if it makes sense for us. If not, that's OK." Grant said he doesn't know if signing the 7-footer makes more sense in the offseason.

o Grant said the Cavs will continue to scour the NBA Development League and free agency to see if any interesting players become available. "We'll constantly look at those guys," he said.